VK
30.02 Panther Prototype

One of the big surprises of the operation Barbarossa was the
realisation that German tanks, particularly the newest Panzer IV could
not match modern Soviet tanks in face-to-face combat.
Despite the fairly high rate of attrition in the previous Blitzkrieg campaings, the Germans were satisfied with the PzKpfw II, III, and IV
then in use with Panzer divisions. In Russia, modern medium and heavy
Soviet tanks with their superior armour, large-calibre guns and
great terrain-going capability emerged as a nasty - and dangerous -
surprise. General Guderian was one of many in high German command
to express urgent concern. Following the battle at Mcensk he reported:
"To the south of Mcensk our 4th tank division was attacked by
Russian tanks and survived a heavy ambush. Superiority of Russian T-34
tanks was obvious. Division had heavy losses. Planned fast offensive on
Tula was stopped for a time."

As a result, the Germans rushed the development of a new medium tank
which we now know as Panther. It was to be armed with a 75mm gun
capable of penetrating even the armour of heavy Soviet tanks. Other
design features included sloped armour, torsion-bar suspension,
interleaved road wheels. MAN and Daimler-Benz had already been
working on the PzKpfw IV successors for some time, and were informed
of the decision to proceed. The companies received contracts to rapidly
complete their prototypes by August/September 1942 and to prepare for
series production in the Fall of 1942.

The Daimler Benz
proposal was radical, with its close copying of the T-34 layout, rear
mounted diesel engine and leaf spring suspension. The MAN design
designated VK 30.02 was more of a purely German design with only the
sloped armour "borrowed" from the T-34, but also stuffed with
advanced engineering, including torsion bar suspension, a gasoline
engine in the rear and the transmission and final drives in front. It
was also much larger, more powerful and complicated than both the
Daimler Benz and T-34 tanks.

The VK 30.02 was
completed in September 1942. Field tests showed its superiority over
the Daimler Benz design, and the vehicle was ordered into production
immediately with the highest priority. Designated PzKpfw V Panther,
SdKfz 171, the first production models were finished in November, 1942
by MAN. Daimler Benz, MNH, and Henschel also tooled up to produce the
Panther during 1943.

As is widely known,
the haste of development and production led to numerous problems and
breakdowns among Panthers during their operational debut in the Battle
of Kursk, 1943. However, as the bugs were worked out, the Panther
emerged as arguably the finest medium tank of World War II and one of
the milestones in the history of tank designs.

The model

This model of VK 30.02 Panther prototype has been built by Markus
Mohlin.

The prototype differed in a number of areas from the later production
tanks. Markus used the Italeri Panther A kit as a basis,
but used the turret and a set of road wheels from Tamiya Panther G. The
driving wheels required a more sophisticated conversion as the wheels
of the VK 30.02 differed from the subsequent production models. Markus
managed to obtain the correctly looking ones by combining the Tamiya wheels
with spokes from Friulmodel and Cromwell wheel hubs. The round fenders
which were another unique feature of the prototype Panthers
were produced from offset printing plate and detailed with stretched sprue.

The gun barrel is a turned aluminium item from Jordi Rubio. The
muzzle brake was another conversion, this time from Panzer IVF.

Markus opted for an exposed Maybach engine. The engine itself
was available as resin set from Verlinden, but its suspension, the walls
of the engine room and other detail inside it were scratchbuilt.

The model was painted overall Panzer grey. As this was a prototype, the weathering was limited to
adding mud and dirt to the chassis and tracks, leaving the hull
relatively "clean". The VK 30-02 carried no markings. It
possibly sums up to a pretty dull looking tank, but subtracts nothing
from its historical significance!

Additional images, click to enlarge

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